Now, everyone knows that this one was sung by Cliff and The Shadows, but do you know in what year it came out, and can you name anyone else who starred in the film? (Answer at the bottom of the page; you get the idea).
Our holiday villa on the outskirts of Guia near Albufiera on the Algarve coast turned out to be a really good choice; a ‘Goldilocks’ result – the location, accommodation and facilities were all ‘just right’. The ‘Northern’ Ewbanks arrived safely on the Saturday, and once the usual ritual of ‘who has which room’ was completed (no problems there as they were all excellent) we settled down to seven days of wall-to-wall sunshine, a great deal of time spent in the pool (especially the junior contingent) and on the nearby beach, and some good food and drink.To be perfectly honest, there’s not much else to say about the week that followed. It’s probably best to let the photos speak for themselves.
The song and film came out in 1963, and probably the only actor that most people are likely to remember is Una Stubbs.
So today we’re off to sunny Spain (and Portugal) ……………… you get one point for remembering who sang it and another for recalling what year. (Answer further down the page). Five points deducted from anyone under the age of 60 who gets the correct answer – you must have Googled it!
The plan for the Ewbank ++ family getaway this year was a week in a villa in The Algarve, but Denise and I decided to add a few days to each end of the break by flying out to Seville and driving the 200 or so miles across to Albufiera – then at the end of the week returning via Carmona and Cordoba.
With life in general, and travel in particular, getting a little bit more taxing these days, we asked for Special Assistance for our outward and return journeys via Gatwick – and I have to say that the system worked extremely well, taking much of the stress and exhaustion out of the ‘airport experience’. Given that the Sleazy Jet departure gate was a good mile from the terminal, the option of sitting smugly in a golf buggy while fellow travelers dive out of your path is highly recommended.
Arriving in Seville, and with the temperature gauge in our hire car reading 41º, we drove the 50 or so kilometers to our overnight accommodation in the village of Paterna del Campo – to find Pension La Ruta well and truly locked up with no signs of life. Step forward Denise with an opportunity to exercise her mastery of Spanish in a telephone call to the owner, and hey presto (or hola pronto as they say in this part of the world) and we were settled for the night.
Not one of our photos – I pinched this one off the net.
The drive eastwards towards Portugal took us via the town of Niebla and its ‘historic castillo’ (aren’t all castles historic?) which was worth a stop and a wander, though the town has encroached on the castillo to the point that we struggled to get a decent view for a photo. Heading on into Portugal we made a point of staying off the motorway to avoid the tolls, and I was struck once again by the vast number of used car dealerships that seem to line just about every main road. If/when you next visit the country keep an eye out – its staggering!
For our first two nights in Portugal we stayed at Hotel Capela Das Artes, a converted listed building set in a six acre olive grove about 10 minutes drive from the beaches of Albufiera. Despite the urban setting it lived up to its self-proclaimed status as ‘an oasis of peace and calm’ and we enjoyed the slightly quirky combination of antique buildings and furnishings and modern comforts. Whilst having a good nose around we were intercepted and given a guided tour by the equally quirky owner, Angel Nuñez Ecchazú, an Argentinian doctor who bought the place as a ruin about 20 years ago and set about transforming it. Interesting man and interesting place.As often seems to occur when we’re on holiday at the end of May. it happened to be my birthday (spooky that!), so I was able to celebrate with some of the family at a lovely restaurant overlooking the sea at Albufiera on the eve of taking over our holiday villa in Guia.
I don’t recognise the old fart on the left of this picture – any ideas?
(Sylvia Vrethammar in 1974 – if you really wanted to know).
From Zamora we headed east towards Valladolid, but as our route took us through Tordesillas we decided to check the place out. During one of our earlier stops we’d got into conversation with a guy who explained why Tordesillas, which virtually nobody has ever heard of, played a vital part in the history of the modern world.It seems that back in the fifteenth century, whilst explorers from a number of European nations were setting out to find, invade and plunder any lands that they came across, Spain and Portugal pulled a sneaky one and met at Tordesillas to carve up the New World between them – getting one over on France, England etc. The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, effectively gave the land that is now Brazil to Portugal and allowed Spain to lay claim to the rest of South America. Of course the other nations took exception to the treaty and totally ignored it – but if you’ve ever wondered why Brazil, alone among all the South American nations, speaks Portuguese- it’s all down to The Treaty of Tordesillas.Heading north again we took a back road through some wonderful countryside and past the village of Tamara de Campos, which is another of those communities that boast a church that’s totally out of proportion to its size.
The impressive Iglesia de San Hipólito at Tamara de Campos.
We stopped overnight at Fromista, which is on one of the acknowledged routes of the Camino de Santiago, and enjoyed a drink at a small bar populated by a number of footsore pilgrims. Enjoyed, that is, until we were charged nine euros for two small beers! It seems that The Church isn’t the only institution that’s happy to take advantage of the devout!
I couldn’t bring myself to include a picture of overpriced beers – so here’s one of a nearby irrigation canal instead ….
….holiday blogs, motoring obsessions and an occasional account of goings-on in the Ewbank household
To be perfectly honest, there’s not much else to say about the week that followed. It’s probably best to let the photos speak for themselves.
